Review Of We Are The Garrison: Why That Was The Perfect Ending To BBC’s ‘The Musketeers’

I live in Canada, so the schedule for The Musketeers here has been ahead of the UK’s. But it’s taken me this long to watch the final episode. I have been putting off watching the series finale of BBC’s The Musketeers for far too long, but in my defense, I have good reason. I have loved Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers since I first sat down with it years ago. The language, the characters, the love, the adventure, it was all so beautiful! I laughed, I cried, it stirred every emotion from anger to pure joy, and that’s the mark of a truly successful book. And while I have been so unbelievably happy with The Musketeers, a finale can ruin even the best of shows. What if that happened with this one?

Not to mention that I don’t deal with the ending of shows well.

But I finally did it. I sat down and pressed play and immersed myself in a new episode of The Musketeers for what will be *sobs* the last time.

And was it ever brilliant!!!!!!

In case you couldn’t tell from the title there will be massive spoilers from both the finale and the book ahead, so proceed at your own risk!

Truth be told, I’ve been worried about the finale ever since I started the show. And the big reason for that is Constance. In the book, she dies by Milady’s hand, in D’Artagnan’s arms. This sends him into inexplicable misery and anger. The Musketeers go after Milady and manage to intercept her and they murder her for her crimes. Let me tell you, I have never read so satisfying a death.

The writers changed Milady’s plot drastically in the show-though it actually worked really well-but that didn’t mean that Constance would make it out alive. And for a moment there, I was incredibly afraid. You all know the moment I’m talking about. The Musketeers arrive at the garrison to see it up in flames. Porthos attempts to hold D’Artagnan back, but with his wife in mind, D’Artagnan finds the strength to break free and runs into the fiery building. Within seconds, it explodes.

Cue my fear.

Not only have we lost Constance, but D’Artagnan too!? And in such a way that is lacking intimacy, I was worried. These are characters we have known and loved for years, and if there’s going to be major deaths in the finale, they have to be emotional and close up. I’m going to reference series 3 of Being Human (UK, mind you) here. I won’t spoil it, but those who have seen it will know what I’m talking about.

But I decided it was going to be a Jon Snow thing. The writers hadn’t failed us yet, and I had faith that they wouldn’t make such a stupid decision. Luckily, they didn’t, and D’Artagnan emerges from the flames, carrying Constance in his arms. This is an absolutely gorgeous moment for so many reasons. Yes, we’re happy that they’re both alive. But more so, it proves that love conquers all. For this is a love story at its core. Between lovers, between brothers, love is at the heart of this show and this scene ties that together perfectly.

Luke Pasqualino really outdid himself in this episode. You could not have found a better D’Artagnan if you tried. This character is brave and strong, but a hopeless romantic and extremely emotional. He shed many tears during this episode-as did I-and I’ve never seen a better performance from him. He’s always been fantastic, but stepped it up even more this episode.

This episode was filled with everything it needed to be. It had epic battles and showdowns. Grimaud and Marcheaux finally got what was coming to them. Anne becomes Queen Regent and ushers in a new age for France. It is clear she will make a wonderful ruler and is already changing the way things work. As far as strong women go, this show is filled to the brim with them and Anne is no exception. The finale wrapped everything up so perfectly. The writers understood the importance and weight of it all. They gave us the ending that the fans deserve, but more importantly, the happy endings the characters deserved.

Athos And Sylvie:

Athos has had an untraditional, exciting life. He’s known for being the broody one, with good reason, and really just wants to love a woman and settle down with her. He wants to be able to trust but that was denied him for so long. But finally he gets the peace that he was looking for. Sylvie is pregnant!! SO CUTE. This was better than I ever could have hoped for. He decides to leave Paris with her, so that they may raise their child together. It’s beautiful and unexpected and just so wonderful to watch. This is the happy ending Athos always wanted and deserved, and to see him finally get it after all odds is heartwarming.

D’Artagnan And Constance:

Of course, this is also the catalyst for D’Artagnan’s happy ending! And yes, that is an old picture, but it’s such a darn cute moment.

D’Artagnan and Constance are both alive and well!! And now that Athos is taking a temporary leave of absence, he names D’Artagnan Captain. D’Artagnan always wanted to be a Musketeer, and so being promoted to Captain and filling in for one of the greatest Musketeers ever to live is an unbelievably huge honor. He dons the new hat-a present from Athos-and readies himself to train the new recruits. It’s left to himself and Constance to rebuild the regiment. It’s a huge responsibility but if any two could do it, they can.

Porthos and Elodie:

Each Musketeer was portrayed perfectly, but Porthos perhaps most of all. He’s often a character that’s left out and who lacks backstory. Mainly there for comic relief, Porthos easily fades into the background. But this was not the case in The Musketeers. He was given a great, detailed upbringing and a fantastic personality. He’s more than just sheer strength and his ending shows that. He wants to be in love as much as the others, but every woman he has fallen for in the past couldn’t be the wife of a soldier. And then all of a sudden, Elodie comes to Paris.

When he tells her that he could never give up soldiering, she says, “I would never ask you to.” They’re perfect for each other and they both know it. Elodie and her child end up coming with him when he leaves for battle, as the Queen promoted him to General!!! He now has a family and the title he deserves. It’s the perfect ending for Porthos and I’m really glad the writers didn’t leave him behind.

Aramis and Anne:

And finally we come to Aramis. Aramis is one of my favourite literary characters of all time, and Santiago Cabrera was the perfect choice for the romantic and religious soldier. Brave and excellent in combat, he’s also extremely wise. The book ended with him leaving the regiment to pursue his faith, which happened at the end of Season 2. But in the show, he finds that it isn’t to his liking, there’s too much of a soldier in him. However, when Anne offers him the position of First Minister of France, he hesitates. It would be perfect for him, and he would be able to protect and guide his son always, but being so close to both him and Anne he feels could be risky. Then he realizes that each of his brothers are going their separate ways and that they have found their callings. It is time he accepts his. He now is able to be with his son as his “new servant”. So cute, oh my god, I cried.

NOT ONLY THAT BUT THE SHIP IS CANON. THE IMPOSSIBLE SHIP THAT WE WERE SURE NEVER WOULD BE ABLE TO BE CANON AGAIN IS SAILING HARD. I’m not going to lie, I gave a standing ovation when Aramis turned the corner and kissed Anne. It’s about time! They are so wonderful together and truly love each other and finally get to be together and wow, I’m rambling but wow, I’M EXCITED. Seriously the perfect ending for Aramis and for Anne, and I’m just so happy.

Just look at how cute.

Ugh. I want someone who will love me as passionately as Aramis loves Anne.

I don’t think I can express any more intensely how happy I am with this finale. I honestly don’t think it’s set in yet that this is the end, though. I think I love this show so much that my mind is not allowing itself to comprehend that it’s over, because I don’t think I could deal with it. I’m not the only one. Fans are taking it really hard. While it wasn’t the most popular (at least, not over here), its viewers are loyal. Why wouldn’t we be? It was without a doubt one of the best shows on television! And that’s why I believe that it’s good that it ends here. Too often do we see an incredible show fail because it’s drawn out. Not here. The seasons build up wonderfully, giving us exciting new plots and characters. I think if they kept going, it could have gotten repetitive and the show would have eventually suffered for it. But it has ended on an extremely high note. They did Dumas’ characters justice, and gave them each the endings they deserved.

There aren’t words for the absolute, undeniable perfection of this show. I have never seen these characters so accurately represented, their spirits so perfectly captured. BBC, and to all of those cast and crew that worked on this incredible show, we thank you. Thank you for bringing this fantastic work to the screen in a way that we have never seen before, and will never see the likes of again. We are forever in your debt. And of course, to Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles, and Luke Pasqualino, thanks for playing our heroes so beautifully.

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Published by Maggie Stancu

Maggie Stancu is a Canadian film critic and recap guru who is obsessed with too many shows and films to count. She is the founder, editor-in-chief, and sole contributor to media news site Fiction's Mistress. Maggie previously contributed to pop culture sites such as ScreenPrism and Movie Pilot, and continues to contribute to Vocal Media. She's also still waiting for her Hogwarts letter, which should arrive any day now...
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One comment

I just binged season 3 over the holidays. Always liked The Musketeers, and this season was no exception. Everyone had a satisfying ending. Too many S3 highlights but a few would include: Louis confronting Aramis about Anne, Feron’s final scenes, Grimaud messing with the Musketeers, that moment we thought D’Artagnan had lost Constance, Treville and Anne’s political intrigues (it went all Game of Thrones after Louis died!), Treville going out like. a. boss. and Anne using Milady to secure her son’s throne.

I would have liked more Anne, Constance and D’Artagnan in S3 (and maybe some subtle references to New France aka Canada) but overall it was a fun series and they did a good job weaving adventure and history, humour and romance.